Vanity

Maybe it's just me but i believe there's something in human nature that makes it so that when you sit across from a mirror you can't help but keep looking at your reflection a/k/a VANITY.

I'm sitting in the salon right now waiting for MaMa and Hippo and I JUST CAN'T STOP checking myself out in the mirror. Particularly fiddling with my newfound bangs. And with my iPod earphones in, it's like i'm in my own world (like those scenes in movies where the protaganist is standing in the same place while the world around them is moving SUPER QUICK).

I always have really weird experiences in salons. Maybe it's because i always get my haircut at some Chinatown salon. For instance, i once had a stylist continually ask me if i wanted to dye my hair, not so subtly implying my hair was in bad condition. CONTINUOUSLY. and you can only listen to "you sure? cause it bad" so many times before it starts getting annoying/funny. On another occassion someone cut my hair with the worst random cowlick on the back of my head, which i didn't discover until after i washed it and dried it for the first time. every time i dried my hair it stood up to Alfalfa-like porportions.

Most recently, i walked into a salon to get full-on straight bangs. I've been really wanting them and WoofWoof's are always a constant reminder. My hair's not ideal for straight bangs because i don't have that STRAIGHT STRAIGHT hair that other asian girls have; mine gets wavy and cowlicky instead. I once got straight bangs in middle school with disastrous results (imagine helmet/giant poof). But i decided to take the leap. I'm older, wiser, and armed with a hair straightener now. I think i can make it work.

So i gave the stylist specific instructions to use the portion allotted to my former sidebangs and use it to cut straight bangs. She seemed to understand. She trimmed my hair and started to work on the bangs, which had grown to chin length since my last haircut. She then asked me, "how short do you want it?"

To which i responded "not too short but so i can see out of them." After which i pointed to the section above my eyes for reference.

She nodded and responded, "so here?" and pointed to the area AT MY MOUTH.

I corrected her again pointing to the area above my eyes.

To which she responded by pointing the area AROUND MY NOSE.

This negotiation continued for 10 mins before i just gave up and let her cut it (we'd reached a compromise to the area of my eyes but not above them). I figured i'd just correct her after. As the cut progressed it became very apparent that she was cutting SIDEBANGS not straight bangs.

So I advised her that i wanted straight bangs NOT sidebangs. This was her response:

"Uhhh... I not know your faaace. I not know if this works for your faaace. I know [the current cut] works for your faaace. You look good. I no know if [straight bangs] work with your faaace. So how bout nex' time when you come back we try that." (And this is exactly how she talked. I'm not being racist).

At this point i just gave up and let her do whatever she wanted. It was too tiring to negotiate.

2 days later i trimmed it myself and am now sporting the desired straight bangs.